Special counsel Jack Smith’s office argued Friday that former President Donald Trump may have violated his release terms by purchasing a gun, though Trump’s spokesperson claims he did not purchase one.
Trump spokesman Steven Cheung tweeted Sept. 25 that Trump purchased a gun in South Carolina, though Cheung later walked back his claim and deleted the tweet, according to The Associated Press. Prosecutors said in a Friday night court filing that Trump “potentially” violated the terms of his release, citing a federal law that makes it illegal for anyone under indictment for a crime punishable by more than one year in prison to receive a firearm.
“The defendant either purchased a gun in violation of the law and his conditions of release, or seeks to benefit from his supporters’ mistaken belief that he did so,” prosecutors wrote in a footnote. “It would be a separate federal crime, and thus a violation of the defendant’s conditions of release, for him to purchase a gun while this felony indictment is pending.”
A Trump spokesperson later clarified that the former president wanted to purchase a gun but did not actually do so. While Trump expressed a desire to buy the gun, he was not seen filling out paperwork to purchase one, according to